Print

CHAPTER 1 Infertility and ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines infertility as a medical condition occurring when a man and woman have unpro- tected sexual intercourse for at least one year and it does not result in a pregnancy. What the CDC omits, however, is the emotional chaos that usually accompanies an infertility diagnosis. Even people who are not par- ticularly passionate about children feel a sense of loss when they discover their body has betrayed them. They may feel unfairly singled out—an oddity among a nation of fertile citizens who can reproduce whenever the spirit moves them. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Infertility is all too common, with 50,000 new cases each year in the United States alone. In numbers it rivals diseases like leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer. Eleanor Stevenson, a professor at Duke University School of Nursing, says the rate of infertility is higher than that of diabetes. According to the CDC, 7.3 million American women aged 15–44—or 1 in 10 women—have used fertility services at some time. Grouped under the umbrella term of ART, or assisted reproductive technology, modern fertility treatments entail a complicated series of steps including hormone shots, blood tests, ultrasounds, checkups for cervical mucus, male mastur- bation, egg harvesting, and much more. Despite the complex steps and discomfort, especially for women, ART has resulted in more than 500,000 in vitro births between 1985 and 2006. Why is such a risky ordeal so popular? For many people, life is not mean- ingful without a child, and they will do anything to improve their fertility and chances of conception.